The present invention relates generally to turbomachines and, more specifically, to the drilling of holes in a turbomachine casing section without having to remove and relocate the casing section to a work area.
There are occasions when it is necessary to install ancillary components, for example, engine health sensor packages or other instrumentation, on a turbine and/or compressor casing. Typically, multiple holes are drilled into the casing in order to mount the various components and/or sensors. Because of the potential and even likely damage to rotating rotor components caused by loose drill chips or shavings, the casing section (generally the upper casing section) is removed completely from the lower casing section and placed on the ground or other supporting structure, away from the lower casing section. While this approach eliminates the concern for loose drill chips or shavings during subsequent turbine operation, it requires additional heavy-duty equipment and costly extended engine downtime.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a methodology and related apparatus by which casing drilling could be carried out while the upper casing remains substantially in situ, but while also eliminating the potential for loose drill chips or shavings from dropping down into the lower casing section which supports the rotatable blade and/or bucket wheels of the turbine engine or compressor rotor.